quantum computing

The University of Illinois-Chicago’s College of Engineering is preparing students for the
the growing “quantum prairie” of the Midwest. Their students have had access to work on quantum computers and the US Quantum Information Summer School at Fermilab.

Recently, the bipartisan supported DOE Quantum Leadership Act was introduced aimed at investing over $2.5 billion in quantum research and development. The bill’s introduction is critical for scaling and commercializing quantum computing.

Fermilab scientists hope to harness the powers of quantum computers to solve unprecedented problems. Central to this goal is the ability to communicate between the quantum and classical computing worlds.

The Chicago Plan Commission approved plans to transform a former steel mill site into a cutting-edge quantum computing park known as the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park. PsiQuantum will construct the large facility, aiming to develop a one-million-qubit utility-scale quantum computer. The park will be affiliated with the University of Illinois but will also have partners including Fermilab, Argonne, the Chicago Quantum Exchange and many Chicago universities.

The Quantum Instrumentation Control Kit now features updated software and firmware and new companion hardware called QICK box. This Fermilab-developed system combines everything a scientist might need to conduct mind-bending research in a pizza-box-sized case.

The Chicago Plan Commission approved plans for a quantum computing research park on the vacant U.S. Steel South Works site, advancing a project that could transform Chicago’s South Side into a national technology hub. The park will be managed by a University of Illinois-led organization in partnership with Argonne National Laboratory, Fermilab and other regional institutions.

Illinois is poised to become a hub for quantum computing with investments from the the State of Illinois and the U.S. Department of Defense’s DARPA agency in a new QC campus. The Quantum Enterprise Zone will be a supportive environment for startups and entrepreneurs, offering access to resources, funding, and expertise. Fermilab and Argonne National Laboratories will also facilitate collaboration and knowledge transfer between academia and industry.

IBM plans to join Fermilab’s SQMS Center to further accelerate critical technologies and applications of superconducting quantum systems and expand quantum workforce development programs.

DOE awarded Fermilab $9 million to further develop technology for national-scale quantum networks to improve the transmission of information as part of the Advanced Quantum Network for Scientific Discovery project.

Avi Vadali started researching at Fermilab for class credit his senior year of high school. Now that work is being published in a journal article.